Edison Sites

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) undertook development work at an unidentified location in or near New Brunswick, New Jersey. As two projects were sponsored by the War Department, Living New Deal believes these projects to be involved with the development of Camp Kilmer, an installation that straddled Piscataway and Edison, within two miles of New Brunswick. Rutgers University's Livingston Campus resides on part of the old Camp Kilmer site. WPA Official Project Numbers: 713‐2‐128 ("Improve and rehabilitate buildings, systems, and facilities"), and 13‐2‐22‐92 ("Repair and rehabilitation of building)

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted millions of dollars (not even adjusted for inflation) of improvement and development work at the former Raritan Arsenal in Edison, New Jersey. Work involved the construction and improvement of facilities and various utilities, including railroad tracks and docks. A cataloguing of these projects was undertaken by the DoD in its Heritage Assessment, cited below.

Roosevelt Care Center in Edison, New Jersey was originally known as the Middlesex County Tuberculosis Hospital. The building was constructed with PWA funds. NJ.com states: "Today, that building is on the National Register of Historic Places. For many years, Roosevelt served as the Middlesex County tuberculosis hospital. In the 1950s, it was converted to a long-term-care facility, and rehabilitation and recreation programs were added. An annex building on the other side of Parsonage Road was completed in 1964, and a major addition to the main building opened in 1982." The structure was reconditioned and converted into affordable senior housing. It opened in April...

Roosevelt Park is located in Edison, New Jersey. It contains a number of picnic groves and sports facilities. The WPA did major work on the park in the 1930s. In addition to general park development, a monument honoring the laborers who built the park was erected in 1933. There is also a WPA sculpture in the park by Waylande Gregory (see linked project page).

Roosevelt Park contains a WPA sculpture by Waylande Gregory entitled "Light Dispelling Darkness." "Most visitors to Roosevelt Park in Edison, New Jersey will pass by this empty fountain thinking not much of it, their attention focused on the globe perched high at the top. However, many fail to notice the evils dispelling from the center, which make the sculpture all the more interesting and relate a bit of creativity that its maker, artist Waylande Gregory envisioned when he designed it in 1937. “Light Dispelling Darkness” was part of a New Jersey Federal Arts Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA...